Bailed out banks piling on new bank fees

As always, they get away with it because they're allowed to get away with it. Until Washington decides to get tough with the bankers, we should expect nothing else. The problem is that if the Democrats would (heaven forbid) criticize these fees, the repugicans would be there to defend the bank fees. Then they would again accuse the Democrats of being anti-business. At that point the Democrats would then choose to ignore consumers and reach out to someone more business friendly in the hopes that this time, the repugicans might start to play nice. Welcome to Groundhog Day, the Washington edition.

CNNMoney:

In August, the Card Act banned a variety of fees -- including certain overdraft and excessive late charges. But one month later, banks are increasing existing fees and finding creative new ways to charge customers more for credit cards, so-called "free" checking accounts and banking services.

Already this year cash-advance fees and balance transfer fees have risen to 4%, up from 3% in July last year, according to a study conducted by the Pew Health Group's Safe Credit Cards Project.

"It's like you've got a sinking boat, where you plug one hole and another one springs up," said Curtis Arnold, founder of CreditRatings.com. "You can shut down one egregious fee, but that doesn't mean other fees aren't just going to start popping up elsewhere."